S.A.A Telescope Questionnaire - beta 1

Much like a manual camera. We start at the very beginning with a
simple 2-1/4, and then college is doing 35mm. A no auto focus, no
light meter, no auto exposure, but we *are* shooting film by the seat of
our skirt. We deviate for some time into digital.... It just doesnt cut
it. We do 4x5 for awhile, sell everything and go into 11x14. Wisner.
USED. Ah. Biggger scopes or bigger cameras. You know my true love....

I love my Dad for that Rollicord.

Everything is upside down and backwards, as always...
katrinaxx


Howard Lester wrote:
You know, maybe times have changed, and maybe people's fried brains have led
to the demise of the "let me see if I can FIGURE THIS OUT ON MY OWN"
mentality.... rather than the current "do it all for me -- now!!!"
mentality.

Here I am, a 10-year old kid asking my parents for a telescope, and I get
this 4-1/4" Palomar Jr. from Edmund Scientific for $75. I'm 10 years old,
get it? Ten. With the telescope, I get a couple of cheap eyepieces and a
plansiphere to help me learn the constellations and my way around the sky.
Kids, I'm on my own - a 10 year old kid.

Oh - did I mention this thing came on a GEM? Think about it. I'm 10, and I
have to figure out this "complex" EQ mount? Sheesh. Poor me! But no... I
learned quickly (in about 5 minutes?) that the polar axis points to the
north star (close), and then the tube swings from east to west as time
marches on. Gosh... I find stars and planets with the thing. I learn to
collimate. OK, maybe by now I'm close to 11 years old. I'm having a ball
with this thing.

No, no GOTO, no drives, no fancy this or that.... no parental guidance
required. No internet genii telling me what I can or cannot do. No one to
discourage me. I did it myself. Did I mention I started learning all this
stuff when I was 10? No, I was no child prodigy, just someone interested in
astronomy at an early age who apparently started out with a functioning
brain.

Howard Lester